Lowe’s, Eateries Look to Replace Costco in Yorktown
Whispers of Costco Wholesale Club bolting Yorktown and Lowe’s coming in as a replacement were publicly confirmed this week.
Breslin Realty Development Corporation was scheduled to appear before the Yorktown Planning Board Monday night to discuss an amended site plan application for an 18.75-acre site off Route 202 that formerly housed a motel and had been approved last year for Costco and an accompanying members-only gas station.
However, Yorktown Planning Director John Tegeder confirmed Monday Costco changed its mind and are no longer interested in opening a store in that location, leaving Wilbur Breslin, president and chief executive officer of Breslin Realty Development Corporation, in search of another tenant.
Apparently, Breslin was successful in piquing Lowe’s interest, as his amended application calls for Lowe’s, along with two restaurant buildings and a bank building. Overall, Tegeder said the new site plan would utilize less space on the property (a total of approximately 137,000 square feet) than the 151,092-square-foot Costco store and gas station that planners gave their blessing to last November. The Lowe’s building will be about 120,000 square feet.
The Yorktown Chamber of Commerce was slated to receive a preview of the plan Monday afternoon prior to the Planning Board meeting in the Yorktown Community and Cultural Center.
Tegeder explained the Planning Board needed to review the amended plan to determine if the “impacts were equal or less” than the Costco project, thus negating having to submit any additional studies. Lowe’s will still be required to get approvals from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection for its storm water plan, plus a critical use and occupancy permit from the state Department of Transportation, among completing other conditions in relation to the site.
Those requirements appeared to be difficult for Costco to obtain, while a few lawsuits filed by a local gas station owner and an environmental advocacy group also may have proven to be too much to overcome.
Yorktown Supervisor Michael Grace said the amended site plan with four buildings may be a better configuration for the property.
“We’re very pleased that Lowe’s wants to invest in the town and hopefully we can find a place for Costco,” Grace said. “The only disappointment is that these things take much longer than they should.”
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